Interviewing

rubyjem00

It has been a LONG while since I have had an interview. Does anyone have any tips as to what questions I should look out for? I have read some articles about new types of questions being asked. I am trying not to go into this blind but I feel lost.

Side note, here is an article in USAToday about some of those strange questions I mentioned: 

 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2011-03-06-cnbc-hard-interview-questions_N.htm

katieisawesome

See, I think I would do better at that interview than the old standby, "What's your greatest strength/weakness?"  I'd rather show them the answer by another means than have to rattle off some bull about how I can be too independent.

That said, my last interview was last week and they asked almost no questions which was weird. 

ChristyDM82

I have never been asked anything remotely near those questions!  Granted, I have no idea what type of position you are interviewing for. 

I recommend preparing answers to questions about yourself (tell me about yourself, what are your short term and long term goals, strengths and weaknesses, etc.) and behavioral situations/answers.

For behavioral preparation, I have used these sites:

This and this. I especially liked the second site; there are a lot of helpful links within that page.  I would also prepare questions you want to ask of your interviewer. 

That was my strategy for my recent interviews, and seeing as though I start my new job in two weeks, I'd say my strategy was successful!  

Even if you were to be asked one of those really random questions, I wouldn't stress trying to prepare for them, because- how could you really?  Good luck!

Dr.Loretta

IMO one of the reasons they'd ask a question like that is to see if you'd come back asking for clarification and/or take the time to think through an answer, even if it's "I don't know but here's how I'd go about figuring it out".

My "weirdest" question was "explain DNA to me". I was applying for technical support at a company that sold DNA products, so it made sense and it helped show whether I could explain a fairly complex concept to someone who wasn't terribly knowledgeable (I had to explain it to HR).

A colleagues favorite question is "what one work-related thing do I not know about you now that I would know after you've been here 6 months?" It looks to things like your work ethic, etc.

A lot of questions these days are situational. Explain a time you had a difficult co-worker and how you handled it. Describe a time you had competing priorities and how you handled the workload. Etc.

It's always good to have something in mind for the old standbys: why do you want to work here, why do you want this job, why should we hire you, what are your strengths/weaknesses, describe yourself in one word. Google them and you should find a broad range.

And always have something for, "Do you have any questions for me?"